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Give them a food complex or teach them a value of a calorie?
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I think people should parent how they want. I do think it's a good idea to teach kids about calories as part of teaching them portion size and healthy eating. I guess the only part of your plan that wouldn't work with me is the concept of a treat cupboard full of junk. I don't like associating junk food with being a "treat" as in a special, good thing or reward. I know many disagree with my viewpoint but to me a "treat" is eating a gourmet meal in a nice restaurant with healthy, locally sourced, organic ingredients cooked without extra oils or sugars. Junk food (candies, crisps, fast food) are not treats to me as they are not special or good but rather the exact opposite.1
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Nay from me. I think showing them the value of healthy eating is much more positive. Maybe try cooking with them, take them running, encourage them to plan a meal. As someone whose mum enforced eating disordered beliefs from a young age, what I am learning in my recovery is BALANCE and how kuch better it feels to lead a healthy lifestyle. Big thumbs up to you though for wanting ro teach them in the right way3
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I think the American way of selling huge bags of snacks makes dishing out single servings a good idea. Though I'd be more inclined to just buy packs with single servings rather than setting a somewhat arbitrary number.
We had to ask permission to eat "treats" and it would be one packet of crisps/chips, or a small ice lolly (and my wonky brain isn't recalling what you call those in the USA!, ice cream on a stick), two biscuits/cookies. There was also always a big bowl of fruit and both me and my brother would avail ourselves happily of fruit for a snack as well. We really enjoyed all foods and loved trying new things. One of my favourite things in summer was a giant salad with grated carrot, grated cheddar, lunch meat made into little roll, pickled beetroot, coleslaw etc. If I came home and that was dinner it was the best day ever. It's one of the few parenting choices my mum got right.
And once a week was pizza and movie night or some other calorie dense meal at home or we'd go out to the cinema and a restaurant. We understood this wasn't something to be done regularly. And it was also a way to somewhat compensate for the fact my brother and step brothers spent every Saturday during term time waiting for me to finish training (gymnast and majorette) which was between 4 and 6 hours.
So there's a balance. I think I'd be more inclined to have baggies or single serves that they can choose one of would be my approach and teaching them that on more active days they might be allowed two things from that cupboard to illustrate how an overall healthy lifestyle is beneficial.
Oh and I'm in Europe too and been to many European cities, they have junk there too, it's just different as we all know when we go overseas, trying the local foods, including fun candies etc is normal. There are plenty of obese people here too, this isn't an exclusively American problem. And all food is chemicals.4 -
There used to be a UK themed store and tea shop near me that was popular in part because it sold UK packaged snacks that you can't get here normally. (Well, maybe it wasn't that popular as it's now closed and re-tooling, but some people liked it.)
I also enjoy Martin McDonagh plays in part because of the liberal discussion of packaged snack foods with unfamiliar names. (Probably those are trashy ones too, but from here in the US they seem "European.")
I've seen/bought snack foods from other countries too, not just English-speaking ones, those were just the ones that most came to mind.1 -
patrickisntfunny wrote: »Nay from me. I think showing them the value of healthy eating is much more positive. Maybe try cooking with them, take them running, encourage them to plan a meal. As someone whose mum enforced eating disordered beliefs from a young age, what I am learning in my recovery is BALANCE and how kuch better it feels to lead a healthy lifestyle. Big thumbs up to you though for wanting ro teach them in the right way
There are too many people right now, in my observation, who see portion control through use of a food scale and calorie tracking as an eating disorder. Trying to turn the very reasonable choice to eat nutritious food in a reasonable amount into a pathology is a problem, and yes, I am talking about the railing against so-called "orthorexia" that is all the rage on the Internet and in FA/HAES blogs right now.
Orthorexia was made up out of whole cloth in the mid 1990s so that people who are overweight and obese can have something to feel superior about. The fact is that orthorexia (or orthorexia nervosa as some FA/HAES proponents will claim) is not a clinical diagnosis and does not appear in the DSM-V. It is not recognized as an eating disorder.1 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »There used to be a UK themed store and tea shop near me that was popular in part because it sold UK packaged snacks that you can't get here normally. (Well, maybe it wasn't that popular as it's now closed and re-tooling, but some people liked it.)
I also enjoy Martin McDonagh plays in part because of the liberal discussion of packaged snack foods with unfamiliar names. (Probably those are trashy ones too, but from here in the US they seem "European.")
I've seen/bought snack foods from other countries too, not just English-speaking ones, those were just the ones that most came to mind.
I believe Trader Joes carries a lot of worldwide foods with a lot of "treat" foods. And I saw a lot in Publix (though I know they are only in a couple of southern states) and Walmart.
We also have a Japanese section in most supermarkets, which I need to make use of because sushi.0 -
Isn't the TJ's stuff their own proprietary brands (even if rebranded to be that)? I don't know -- I would look around more at TJ's but it's dangerous, so I mostly just get my usual stuff. (They have some delicious macarons there that aren't quite as good as the ones at the bakery that is now in the space where the UK store used to be, which is about a block from my place, but still good enough to be more tempting than necessary!)
They come in a package, though, so certainly trashy! /sarcasm0 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »amusedmonkey wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »Personally, I think they're just going to end up with food hangups...
As a family, we eat pretty healthy...we teach our kids the value of good nutrition and the kids are allowed treats at our discretion. We're active as a family and my wife and I set the tone in regards to the importance of fitness to an overall healthy way of living. My kids see regular exercise and just being out and being active as totally normal.
Really, at my kid's ages (7 & 4), they don't really need to get all worked up and obsess about calories...they're active and as a family we eat well most of the time...they understand the value of that and the value of having treats here and there but that those things shouldn't be their primary source of food.
IDK..maybe it's because I haven't counted calories in years and one of the reasons I stopped was that I was starting to get consumed and hung up with the numbers...I just don't think it's a very good idea.
I got fat (very fat) eating healthy and being on the volleyball team. My family generally ate healthy because most of our home cooked meals are nutritious and we always cooked. I was about 9 years old when I learned about calories, and it has not created any negative impact for me. Had I been exposed to the practical application of calories at home and not just playing games with it in school, food control may have been higher on my list of priorities, who knows.
She isn't having them count every single morsel of food or intimidating them into being afraid of high calorie foods, she is simply exposing them to tools that could prove helpful for weight management, and it's only once a week, not a daily obsession. If at some point they need to use this tool they would know that if they are having a slightly heavier dinner but find themselves in the shop wanting a snack, they would just look at the calories on the package to pick something fitting instead of heading directly to a higher calorie snack of nuts just because it's healthy.
We treat children like little adults with comparable life baggage and hangups, but they're in fact eager to learn and don't usually read too much into things unless there are other factors at play.
I know a 12 year old girl with eating disorders because her mom is obsessed with calories and forced that *kitten* down her kid's throat...
There are lots and lots and lots of people who aren't particularly calorie aware who do just fine...most of my friends are fitness folks and healthy and lean and fit and not a single one counts calories or anything...
I'm sure at some point I'll introduce the concept of calories and energy to my kids, but I think it's a bit much at 4 & 7...particularly when they already have good eating habits, their own internal portion control, and are very active kids...it aint broke, so there's nothing to fix. At this point I think we're just fine focusing on solid nutrition and regular exercise.
This stresses the importance of finding the Golden Mean. One could take this too far, but ignoring the issue is not helpful either. In your case you have ensured that your caloric output is sufficient for maintenance of your caloric input, but there isn't anything intuitive about this. As evidenced by the obese population there is nothing intuitive to portion control.
What is critical is modeled behavior. Children will rarely pay attention to what you say if your behavior does not match your words.
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lemurcat12 wrote: »Isn't the TJ's stuff their own proprietary brands (even if rebranded to be that)? I don't know -- I would look around more at TJ's but it's dangerous, so I mostly just get my usual stuff. (They have some delicious macarons there that aren't quite as good as the ones at the bakery that is now in the space where the UK store used to be, which is about a block from my place, but still good enough to be more tempting than necessary!)
They come in a package, though, so certainly trashy! /sarcasm
I've seen some Youtubers I watch go into TJ and it's UK stuff for stuff. A little section for it.0 -
VintageFeline wrote: »I think the American way of selling huge bags of snacks makes dishing out single servings a good idea. Though I'd be more inclined to just buy packs with single servings rather than setting a somewhat arbitrary number.
In the US the packs with single servings often cost twice as much or more as the same item in a larger package. If one can control consumption it's much more cost efficient to go with the larger package.0 -
VintageFeline wrote: »lemurcat12 wrote: »Isn't the TJ's stuff their own proprietary brands (even if rebranded to be that)? I don't know -- I would look around more at TJ's but it's dangerous, so I mostly just get my usual stuff. (They have some delicious macarons there that aren't quite as good as the ones at the bakery that is now in the space where the UK store used to be, which is about a block from my place, but still good enough to be more tempting than necessary!)
They come in a package, though, so certainly trashy! /sarcasm
I've seen some Youtubers I watch go into TJ and it's UK stuff for stuff. A little section for it.
Hmm, will research.0 -
How about some proof to this?heiliskrimsli wrote: »
Orthorexia was made up out of whole cloth in the mid 1990s so that people who are overweight and obese can have something to feel superior about. The fact is that orthorexia (or orthorexia nervosa as some FA/HAES proponents will claim) is not a clinical diagnosis and does not appear in the DSM-V. It is not recognized as an eating disorder.
Are you a psychiatrist or dietitian?
Orthorexia doesn't just affect those who are overweight/obese. Many of healthy weight and even those that are underweight can develop fear of eating certain foods and food groups. My niece (former anorexic) was afraid of many foods for fear of gaining no weight. No one feels superior about being afraid of something. What absolute horrid crap. I haven't seen you write anything nice or supportive, ever.
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I wish I had learned about nutrition and portion sizing as a kid. But my mother has a history of eating disorders and extremely poor body image which ended up affecting all of the kids as adults. We have had to learn a lot from scratch (my husband taught me a great deal, before him I would eat fast food 2-3x a day). I think that learning about nutrition and energy are good, and having open communication about it is key. That way, if they hear something about nutrition/food/body image (Timmy's mom says cake will make me fat!) then you have established a way to talk about it with them.
ETA: I don't have kids, this is just from my own childhood experience.0 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »amusedmonkey wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »Personally, I think they're just going to end up with food hangups...
As a family, we eat pretty healthy...we teach our kids the value of good nutrition and the kids are allowed treats at our discretion. We're active as a family and my wife and I set the tone in regards to the importance of fitness to an overall healthy way of living. My kids see regular exercise and just being out and being active as totally normal.
Really, at my kid's ages (7 & 4), they don't really need to get all worked up and obsess about calories...they're active and as a family we eat well most of the time...they understand the value of that and the value of having treats here and there but that those things shouldn't be their primary source of food.
IDK..maybe it's because I haven't counted calories in years and one of the reasons I stopped was that I was starting to get consumed and hung up with the numbers...I just don't think it's a very good idea.
I got fat (very fat) eating healthy and being on the volleyball team. My family generally ate healthy because most of our home cooked meals are nutritious and we always cooked. I was about 9 years old when I learned about calories, and it has not created any negative impact for me. Had I been exposed to the practical application of calories at home and not just playing games with it in school, food control may have been higher on my list of priorities, who knows.
She isn't having them count every single morsel of food or intimidating them into being afraid of high calorie foods, she is simply exposing them to tools that could prove helpful for weight management, and it's only once a week, not a daily obsession. If at some point they need to use this tool they would know that if they are having a slightly heavier dinner but find themselves in the shop wanting a snack, they would just look at the calories on the package to pick something fitting instead of heading directly to a higher calorie snack of nuts just because it's healthy.
We treat children like little adults with comparable life baggage and hangups, but they're in fact eager to learn and don't usually read too much into things unless there are other factors at play.
I know a 12 year old girl with eating disorders because her mom is obsessed with calories and forced that *kitten* down her kid's throat...
There are lots and lots and lots of people who aren't particularly calorie aware who do just fine...most of my friends are fitness folks and healthy and lean and fit and not a single one counts calories or anything...
I'm sure at some point I'll introduce the concept of calories and energy to my kids, but I think it's a bit much at 4 & 7...particularly when they already have good eating habits, their own internal portion control, and are very active kids...it aint broke, so there's nothing to fix. At this point I think we're just fine focusing on solid nutrition and regular exercise.
This stresses the importance of finding the Golden Mean. One could take this too far, but ignoring the issue is not helpful either. In your case you have ensured that your caloric output is sufficient for maintenance of your caloric input, but there isn't anything intuitive about this. As evidenced by the obese population there is nothing intuitive to portion control.
What is critical is modeled behavior. Children will rarely pay attention to what you say if your behavior does not match your words.
Exactly why my wife and I lead by example...1 -
cerise_noir wrote: »
How about some proof to this?heiliskrimsli wrote: »
Orthorexia was made up out of whole cloth in the mid 1990s so that people who are overweight and obese can have something to feel superior about. The fact is that orthorexia (or orthorexia nervosa as some FA/HAES proponents will claim) is not a clinical diagnosis and does not appear in the DSM-V. It is not recognized as an eating disorder.
Are you a psychiatrist or dietitian?
Orthorexia doesn't just affect those who are overweight/obese. Many of healthy weight and even those that are underweight can develop fear of eating certain foods and food groups. My niece (former anorexic) was afraid of many foods for fear of gaining no weight. No one feels superior about being afraid of something. What absolute horrid crap. I haven't seen you write anything nice or supportive, ever.
Orthorexia nervosa is not currently recognized as a clinical diagnosis in the DSM-5, but many people struggle with symptoms associated with this term.Orthorexia is a term coined by Steven Bratman, MD in 1996. He began to use it with his patients who were overly health-obsessed. It was not meant as a diagnosis;It is not an officially recognized disorder in the DSM-5
And that is from people who consider it an actual mental disorder. Good enough for you, or do you still want to dispute the facts because you don't like them?
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lemurcat12 wrote: »I also enjoy Martin McDonagh plays in part because of the liberal discussion of packaged snack foods with unfamiliar names. (Probably those are trashy ones too, but from here in the US they seem "European.")
Heyyy a McDonagh fan in the wild!
Every time I exercise I think of that line from The Pillowman: "You came fourth out of *kitten* four in the discus!"
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I'm not American, therefore sorry for being rough. But I'd never let my kids think that chips and artificial sweets are their treats. They should eat good real healthy food, not that garbage. Dark chocolate, fruits, dried fruits, even real deserts like macaroon or fruit tarts are much better. But not that garbage and especially presented as "treats", which creates a wrong image in their minds for their whole life.
I know it's popular on the MFP to make it all about calories. But calories counting is only to control your weight, which kids don't really need. What they do need is to learn to choose good quality food to live long and healthy life, and not making food their life priority and obsession.
OK, so l figure my 2nd grader takes in the ball park of 10,500 calories a week (1500 a day), if I allotted him 150 calories (on the weekend) of said snacks in that drawer that's about 1.5% of his caloric intake for the week. If the rest of the 10,350 calories he takes in the rest of the week come from healthy more nutritious food, why not teach him it's okay to have something small like this once in a while?
It certainly isn't damaging healthwise...0 -
heiliskrimsli wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »heiliskrimsli wrote: »cerise_noir wrote: »
How about some proof to this?heiliskrimsli wrote: »
Orthorexia was made up out of whole cloth in the mid 1990s so that people who are overweight and obese can have something to feel superior about. The fact is that orthorexia (or orthorexia nervosa as some FA/HAES proponents will claim) is not a clinical diagnosis and does not appear in the DSM-V. It is not recognized as an eating disorder.
Are you a psychiatrist or dietitian?
Orthorexia doesn't just affect those who are overweight/obese. Many of healthy weight and even those that are underweight can develop fear of eating certain foods and food groups. My niece (former anorexic) was afraid of many foods for fear of gaining no weight. No one feels superior about being afraid of something. What absolute horrid crap. I haven't seen you write anything nice or supportive, ever.
Orthorexia nervosa is not currently recognized as a clinical diagnosis in the DSM-5, but many people struggle with symptoms associated with this term.Orthorexia is a term coined by Steven Bratman, MD in 1996. He began to use it with his patients who were overly health-obsessed. It was not meant as a diagnosis;It is not an officially recognized disorder in the DSM-5
And that is from people who consider it an actual mental disorder. Good enough for you, or do you still want to dispute the facts because you don't like them?cwolfman13 wrote: »heiliskrimsli wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »heiliskrimsli wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »Personally, I think they're just going to end up with food hangups...
As a family, we eat pretty healthy...we teach our kids the value of good nutrition and the kids are allowed treats at our discretion. We're active as a family and my wife and I set the tone in regards to the importance of fitness to an overall healthy way of living. My kids see regular exercise and just being out and being active as totally normal.
Really, at my kid's ages (7 & 4), they don't really need to get all worked up and obsess about calories...they're active and as a family we eat well most of the time...they understand the value of that and the value of having treats here and there but that those things shouldn't be their primary source of food.
IDK..maybe it's because I haven't counted calories in years and one of the reasons I stopped was that I was starting to get consumed and hung up with the numbers...I just don't think it's a very good idea.
Did you teach them about having a budget for money and expenses?
They are 7 and 4 and learning about budgeting with their allowances...we have a spend jar, save jar, and charity jar. Personally, while I think anecdotal comparisons between budget and calories on a sit like this can be beneficial, in real life I don't particularly see them as the same thing.
Most lean, healthy, and fit people I know don't keep a calorie "budget"...and guess what? They're lean, healthy, and fit...because they do the things that lean, healthy, and fit people do. We are teaching our kids how to live a healthy life overall...I don't think they need to start obsessing about calories and numbers at 7 & 4...that's how eating disorders can develop pretty easily.
Calorie counting and whatnot is "normal" on MFP...it's not really "normal" anywhere else. It's quite possible to maintain a healthy weight and whatnot without knowing exactly this many calories or that many calories...people do it all the friggin' time.
It is absolutely absurd to me that anyone thinks knowing how much they're eating is somehow weird, problematic or a sign of an eating disorder.
A fundamental part of good nutrition is consuming the proper amount for one's age, sex and activity level. Given the rate of overweight and obesity as well as the fact that both are increasing, it is asinine to place all the worry on eating disorders so as to eschew such a basic part of nutrition. Kind of like worrying that it's raining and you've got no umbrella when you're on a sinking ship.
You seem pretty bent out of shape...go have a snack...
Making up fake mental illnesses so that people can feel special is a distraction from treating real mental disorders.
What the *kitten* are you talking about? Where did I make up fake mental illnesses? Like seriously, what the *kitten* are you going on about?
Orthorexia / Orthorexia Nervosa is not an actual mental disorder.
What people call that may properly fit under various other mental disorders that are real. By using a term that even the man who first coined it said was not intended to be a diagnosis to claim that it is a specific disorder, you may actually be preventing someone from getting help for the mental illness they actually do have.
You seem very angry with all these expletives. Are you feeling OK?
Serious question - did you read all of that link that you posted?
Yes, you are correct that it's not actually in the DSM-5. But, the NEDA recognizes that it's a problem area. So the fact that it's not officially diagnosed doesn't really mean all that much.While orthorexia is not a condition your doctor will diagnose, recovery can require professional help. A practitioner skilled at treating eating disorders is the best choice. This handout can be used to help the professional understand orthorexia.
eta: In reviewing one of your other comments, yes, it looks like you probably did. Which makes me wonder why you're so bent out of shape about it. Whether it's "officially" recognized or not, it's an issue that the NEDA (and you, yourself) acknowledged.1 -
I think it really depends on the kid, the parents, and the overall attitude toward health, fitness, nutrition, weight and food in the house. I have kids about the same age as OP (6 and 8 - boys) and while we haven't set up anything formal like this, I am teaching my kids about moderation and that it's ok to have treats like these occasionally - they tend to eat a small piece of candy (like a fun size candy bar) after dinner some nights, other nights we don't have any dessert. We keep the packaged snacks on a shelf in the basement - not because they are bad or need to be isolated, just because we buy in bulk and the kids have to take snacks to school each day - putting them all in a central location makes our Sunday night preparation a little easier. We keep candy and cookies and things in the pantry slightly out of their reach, again not intentionally but more because that's where they just ended up. We have candy in the house leftover from Halloween, from Christmas, and from Easter. They just don't eat it that much and are very good about self regulating. They know about calories in general, because they see me checking the labels and logging things, but we haven't talked about their calorie needs or quantified how much should come from these sorts of foods. We may, as they get older - I think understanding the energy balance is very important when they are at an appropriate age for it.
I also think it is a slippery slope for some kids/families to focusing too much on labeling foods as good/bad, overemphasizing weight or a certain body image, etc - particularly as they grow a little older. But again, I think that because my husband and I try to lead an active lifestyle, eat generally healthy but don't see anything wrong with eating pizza, or McDonalds on occasion, going out for gelato once a week (hey we have that in the US too - go figure!), and in general try to promote acceptance of others regardless of outward appearance; I'm not too concerned about my kids developing food related issues based on things they've learned at home. Other families, where a mother is constantly saying in front of children things like "oh I can't eat that, it's bad" or "I look fat in these pants" or suggesting that a kid shouldn't ever eat McDonalds because they might get fat - is not a healthy overall attitude about health, fitness, nutrition, weight and food.1
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